Automatic parcel-carrier.



W. L. NELSON.

AUTOMATIC PARCEL CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 2, 1912.

1 37 1 Patented 0013.14, 1913.

4 SHEBTSSHEET 1 WITNESSES: LVVENTOR. I ,54 Q lV/rz L. /V9/s0/2 7 TTORNEY.

w. L. NELSON. AUTOMATIC PARCEL CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 2, 1912.

Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

LVVENTOR. Wm L. Ne/aorz W. L. NELSON. AUTOMATIC PARCEL CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 2, 1912.

Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

coLumsl t PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP n'ro NNNN ct W. L. NELSON.

AUTOMATIC PARCEL CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2, 1912.

1,075,3?1 Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4,

I'VJTNESSES: INVENTOR.

WILLIAM L. NELSON, OF BOSS, MISSOURI.

AUTOMATIC PARCEL-CARRIER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Oct. 14,1913.

Application filed October 2, 1912. Serial No. 723,623.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. NELSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boss, in the county of Dent and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Parcel- Carriers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to parcel carriers of the type designed to automatically collect and deliver letters, papers and other parcels at predetermined points along routes in rural districts or cities.

In accordance with my invention I provide two aerial tracks which are connected one above the other in opposite sides of an electric circuit and along which a carriage is driven by a motor which is mounted thereon in electric communication with said tracks. The carriage is constructed to receive parcels and to deliver others consecutively at stations along the line of the tracks by cooperation with parcel-holding contrivances disposed at the said stations.

The principal object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of the character described which is positive and reliable in its action, which is strong, durable and practical and in which the carrier is provided with means which assure its remaining continually in its proper position on the tracks along which it is impelled.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described and shown in the accompanying drawings in the various views of which like parts are similarly designated, and in which,

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the carrier in its operative position on the tracks and in adjacency to one of the poles on which the latter are supported, Fig. 2, a side elevation of the pole looking in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 a section taken along the line 3-3, Fig. 1 showing the relative positions of the parcel-receiving and delivering parts of the carrier and one of the parcel-holding contrivances which are disposed at predetermined points along the tracks, Fig. 4, a side elevation of the carriage drawn to an enlarged scale, Fig. 5, an end view of the carriage together with one of the track supporting poles and the therewith connected parcel-holding contrivance, disposed at the stations along the line of travel, Fig. 6, an enlarged fragmentary section taken along the line 66, Fig. 4, Fig. 7, a section along the line 77, Fig. 6,'Fig. 8, a fragmentary plan view of the front end of the endless parcel-carrier on the carriage and the trigger which intermittently impels the same by engagement with trips at the stations along the line, Fig. 9, a section taken along the line 99, Fig. 8, Fig. 10, a face view of one of the members of the wire supporting rails by means of which the aerial tracks are suspended from the poles, and, Fig. 11, a section taken along the line 1111, Fig. 10.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, 2 and 3 designate the aerial tracks which are supported one above the other on poles d which are erected along the line of travel and which as hereinbefore explained, are connected in opposite sides of an electric circuit 5, it being understood that the tracks are laid along an endless course and the carriages remain in motion until they have returned to the starting point. Each of the tracks is composed of a wire cable made in sections of the ordinary length in which wire is usually manufactured and jointed and supported in clamp rails 6 which are attached to brackets 57 secured to the poles 4: and whose upper edges form a continuation of the wires extending at opposite ends of the same. Each of the clamp rails is composed of two members 7 and 8, one of which is recessed to receive the wires and in case they are spliced their twisted ends, as shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings, and which is connected to the other member by means of a series of equiclistantly disposed bolts 9 which extend outwardly from the brackets in horizontal alinement and whose reduced threaded extremities pass through plain openings in the member 7 and are screwed into correspondingly threaded openings in the member 8 thereby clamping the wire firmly between the two members. The bolts 9 are fastened to angle-bars 10 secured one above the other on the brackets 57 from which one of the angle bars is insulated by means of an interposed strip of non-conductive material, to prevent the flow of current between the two tracks.

At the stations along the course of the aerial tracks at which the parcels carried by the carriage are to be delivered or col lected, trips 12 are secured to the adjacent poles for the purpose of actuating a trigger 13 on the carriage as will hereinafter be more fully described, and on the same poles are mounted the parcel-holding contrivances which receive the parcels delivered from the carriage and hold the parcels to be collected thereby,.in the proper position to be removed by the carriage as it passes the stations.

The contrivances above referred to, consist each of a staff 14: which is pivoted to the pole as at 15 and which is normally held in an upright position in a spring-catch 16 with its arms 17 and 18 extending upwardly, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. By moving the staff 14 about its pivotthe arms 17 and 18 may be lowered for the removal or attachment of the parcels. The members 17 and 18 carry at their extremities, pairs of resilient fingers 19 which diverge from the extremity of the members at which they are attached in the direction of travel of the carriage, which in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings is indicated by arrows .C,.the pairs of fingers being respectively disposed in the path of the parcel holding devices on the carriage, as will hereinafter be described.

The carriage used in connection with the apparatus consists of an inverted U-shaped frame 20 on which are journaled two grooved traction wheels 21 which are mounted to travel upon the lower one of the two tracks. Attached in insulated relation at the upper part of the body portion of the frame 20, is an upright post 22 upon which is loosely fitted a sleeve 23 which at its up per end carries a grooved wheel 24 for operative engagement with the upper one of the two tracks. The movement of the sleeve on the post is limited by a screw 25 which is secured at the upper end of the latter and projects through a longitudinal slot in the sleeve, the object of the arrangement being to provide means whereby the upper wheel 24 may adjust itself automatically in accordance with possible variations in the distance between the two tracks.

Rotatably mounted on the frame 20 and on the sleeve 23 below the respective wheels 21 and 24, are guard wheels 26, each composed of a hub and a plurality of equidistant, radial teeth, one of which extends continuously past the peripheral edge of the respective wheel and contiguous to the outer surface of the same for the-purpose of preventing lateral displacement of the carriage in case the said wheels should accidentally leave the tracks on which they are supported. To hold the guard wheels in a position in which one or more of their teeth extend downwardly to engage the bolts 9 of the track rails when the carriage passes the poles to which the latter are attached, as will hereinafter be more fully explained, the said wheels are provided with multilateral hubs 27, the faces of which are engaged by in case said wheels are turned so that the edges of their hubs 27 are engaged by the respective rods 28. The reciprocating movement is imparted to the tension rods 28 by means of eccentrics 30 which are formed integral with the wheels 21 and 24. and which are surrounded by straps 31 formed at the upper endsof the rods. When the carriage passes one of the poles on which the tracks are supported, the teeth of the guard wheels are brought in engagement with the equidistant bolts 9 by which the clamp rails 6 are secured to the brackets 57, with the result that the said wheels are intermittently rotated and thus pass by the poles without interrupting the progress of the carriage.

A plate 82 secured at the lower ends of the frame 20 provides a support for an electric motor 33 which is electrically connected with the frame 20 and with the insulated post 22 by means of conductors 3a, which in the drawings have been shown in broken lines. The rotary movement of the armature of the motor is transmitted to one of the traction wheels on the frame by means of a sprocket-chain '35 which is trained about sprocket wheels 36 and 37 mounted on the shafts of the traction-wheel and thearmature. Bigidly secured at one of their ends to the motor support 32, are twoarms 38 and 39 which extend in opposite directions from the points at which they are secured in parallel relation to the tracks from which the carriage is suspended. The arm 39 which in the operation of the invention, serves as a support from which the parcels to be delivered at the various stations along the course, are suspended out of the way of the members 17 on the staves to which the parcels to be collected are attached. This arm will hereinafter be called the delivery arm of the device, while the other arm 38 which is designed to collect the parcels which are to be sent from the stations, is

termed the receiving arm of the same. The

trigger 13 with the trips 12 on the poles 4 adjacent said stations. The carrier 42 is composed of an endless chain which is trained over sprocket wheels 43 rotatably mounted at opposite ends of a tube 44 which extends parallel to the arms 39 and 38 and through which the lower portion of the chain travels. The chain 42 is provided along one-half of its len th with a plurality of equidistant outwardly, projecting teeth 45 which serve to impel the parcels suspended from the delivery-arm 39, as will hereinafter he more fully described.

The trigger 13 consists of a lever which is fulcrumed on the frame as at 46 and which extends beyond the same to engage with one of its arms, the trips 12 on the poles when the carriage moves past the same. A spring dog 47 secured to a plate 48 at the end of the opposite arm of the lever, engages a ratchet wheel 49 which is mounted on the shaft of the adjacent one of the two sprocket wheels 43 upon which the endless chain is carried, and a coiled spring 50 applied between the said plate and a part of the carriage frame is provided to yieldingly maintain the lever in its normal position in which it engages a stop 51 on the frame.

The letters or other parcels to be conveyed by the apparatus are placed in pouches 52 of suitable size and form which are secured to one of two articulately connected links 53 and 54 by means of which they are suspended from either one of the arms 38 and 39, and operatively connected with the endless chain 42. The pouches to be delivered by the carriage at the difi erentstations along the line, are suspended from the delivery arm 39 by means of the rings 53 while the outer rings 54 are placed loosely around the tube 44 between two upwardly projecting teeth 45 on the chain which is guided in a channel 57 which is secured upon the said tube. The outer links of the several pouches thus suspended from the carriage are placed in the interdental spaces of the carrier in the order in which they are to be delivered at the consecutive stations along the course. The parcel to be conveyed to the first station is thus connected in the space nearest the rear end of the chain, that to be delivered at the second station has its link disposed in the next succeeding space and so on to the last space at the front end of the chain in which the parcel to be delivered at the last station, is connected.

W hen the carriage moves past a stat-ion, the trip on the pole adjacent thereto is engaged by the arm of the lever 13 which by means of the dog 47 at its opposite end imparts a partial rotation to the sprocket wheel 43 with which the ratchet 49 is connected, thereby moving the chain rearwardly a distance equal to one of the spaces between its teeth. The link of the pouch which was disposed in the interdental space nearest the rear end of the chain is, by movement of the latter around the adjacent sprocket wheel, released therefrom and deposited upon a pair of convergent prongs 55 secured at the end of the tube 44, from which it remains suspended as shown in broken lines in Fig. 5, until the rear end of the carriage moves past the forked staff 14 at the station when the outer member 18 of the fork by entering the said link, causes the pouch to move off the prongs and off the delivery arm from which it was sus pended, onto the staff 14. While the link 54 of the one pouch is released from the chain, that of the next succeeding one is moved to its place at the rear end of the chain, ready to be deposited upon the prongs 55 when the carriage passes the next station, and all the parcels are, in this manner, consecutively delivered at their respective stations until the carrier has returned to the starting point.

The parcels to be collected by the moving carriage at the various stations are by means of the outer ones of their links, suspended from the end of the inner members 17 of the forked staves, in the path of the receiving arm of the carriage which, when the latter passes the poles on which the staves are mounted, enters the said links and thus removes the parcels which remain suspended from the arm 38 until the carriage has reached the end of its course, it being understood that the prongs 41 at the end of the said arm which were momentarily pressed together each time one of the links moved onto the arm, prevent the parcels from accidentally moving off the same.

It will be observed that while the parcels are removed from or delivered onto the forked staves, the carriage moves over the upper edges of the clamp rails at the stations, which being rigidly connected with the respective poles, positively insure the proper registration of the links on the pouches with the receiving arm on the carriage and with the end of the member 17 which holds the parcel to be collected thereby.

The guard wheels on the carriage prevent the wheels from leaving the track either while passing the stations or while moving between the same, the adjustability of the upper wheel on the carriage compensates for any variations in the distance between the two tracks, the employment of the latter as conductors of electricity insures a continuous operative connection between the motor and the source of electricity, and the prongs applied at the ends of the arms on the carriage and on the forked staff, prevent accidental displacement of the parcels by action of the wind or other causes.

.I-Iaving thusdescribed my invention What Iclaim and desireto secure by Letters-Patcut is:

1. In apparatus of the class described, a pair .of aerial tracks supported one above the other, a carriage composed of a frame and an upright post thereon, a wheel on said frame supported on one of said tracks, a motor on said carriage having a driving connection with said wheel, a sleeve rotatably and longitudinally slidably mounted on said post, a wheel on said sleeve, supported upon the other track, a parcel receptacle, and means on said carriage to removably hold the same.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a track, a motor propelled carriage supported thereon, an endless carrier on said carriage, a trip-operated device to intermittently move said carrier, a parcel-receptacle having a link for connection with said carrier, a vmeans on said carriage to receive said link when discharged over an end of said carrier, and a contrivance disposed adjacent thetrack and adapted to remove said receptacle from the said means by arresting its movement with the carriage.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a track, a motor propelled carriage supported thereon, an endless carrier on said carriage, a trip-operated device to intermittently move said carrier, a parcel-receptacle having a link for connection with said carrier, prongs extending rearwardly from said carriage to receive said link when discharged over the rear end of the carrier, and a contrivance disposed adjacent the track and adapted to remove said receptacle from the said prongs by arresting its movement with the carriage.

4. In apparatus of the class described, a track, a motor-propelled carriage supported thereon, an endless carrier on said carriage, a trip-operated device to intermittently move said carrier, a parcel-receptacle having a link for connection with said carrier, prongs extending rearwardly from said carriage to receive said link when discharged over the rear-end of the carrier, and an arm disposed near the track in the path of said link and adapted to remove said receptacle from said prongs by entering said link.

5. In apparatus of the class described, a track, a motor-propelled carriage supported thereon, a toothed endless carrier on said carriage, a trip-operated device to intermittently move said carrier, means on said carriage adapted to retain parcels afterthey are discharged from the carrier, a parcel-receptacle having means for suspending it from said retaining means and between the teeth on said carrier, and a contrivance disposed adjacent the track and adapted to remove said receptacle from the n rmal said retaining means by arrestingitsinovement with the carriage.

6. In apparatus of the class described, a track, a motor-propelled carriage .sup ported thereon, a toothed endless carrier on said carriage, atrip operated device to intermittently move said carrier, an arm on said carriage, a parcel-receptacle having means for suspending it from said arm and for its connection with the teeth on said carrier, prongs extending rearwardly from the carriage to receive the said connecting means of the receptacle when discharged over the rear end of said carrier, and a contrivance disposed adjacent the track and adapted to remove saidreceptacle from the said arm by engagement with said means.

"7. In apparatus of the class described, a track, a motorpropelled carriage supported thereon, a toothed endless carrier on said carriage, a trip-operated device .to intermittently move said carrier, an ,arm on said carriage, a parcel-receptacle having a link for suspending said receptacle from said arm anda second link connected with the first mentioned link for connecting it with the teeth of said carrier, and a contrivance vdisposed adjacent said track and adapted to remove said receptacle from said arm by arresting its movement with the carriage. I

8. In apparatus of the class described, a track, a motor-propelled carriage supportedthereon, a toothed endless carrier on said carriage, a trip-operated device to intermittently move'said carrier, an arm on said carriage, a parcel-receptacle having a link for suspending said receptacle from said arm and a second link connected with the first mentioned link for connecting it with the teeth of said carrier, prongs extending rearwardly from the carriage to receive the second link when discharged over the end of said carrier, and a contrivance disposed adjacent the track and adapted to remove said receptacle from the said arms and the said prongs by arresting its movement with the carriage.

9. In apparatus of the class described, a track, a motor-propelled carriage supported thereon, a toothed, endless carrier on said carriage, a trip-operated device to intermittently move said carrier, oppositely extending arms connected at one of their ends to said carriage, parcel-receptacles having links for suspending them from either arm, and second links connected with the others for connection with the teeth of said carrier, and a contrivance disposed adjacent the track and including means for holding one of said receptacles in the path of one of said arms, and means for removing another one of said receptacles from the other arm by arresting its movement with the carriage.

10. In apparatus of the class described, a track, a motorpropelled carriage supported thereon, a toothed endless carrier on said carriage, a trip-operated device to intermittently move said carrier, oppositely extending arms connected at one of their ends to said carriage, parcel receptacles having links for suspending them from either arm, and second links connected with the others for connection with the teeth of said carrier, prongs ext-ending re-arvvardly from said carriage to receive said links when discharged over the rear end of said carrier, and a contrivance disposed adjacent the track and including means for holding one of said receptacles in the path of one of said arms, and means for removing another one of said receptacles from the other arm by arresting its movement with the carriage. 11. In apparatus of the class described, a pair of tracks supported one above the other, a carriage comprising a frame, a wheel supported on the lower track and a Wheel having a rotary movement about a vertical axis on the frame and supported on the upper track, and a motor on said frame having a driving connection with the lower wheel.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM L. NELSON. Witnesses:

G. J. ROLLANDET, L. RHoAnns.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

